Letting Go
by solitarycloud
Summary: Post Canon. In which, Levi and Hange's daughter gets married and Levi realizes the idea of losing his little girl scares him shitless. A companion to the drabble, "Family". A fic for the LeviHan week prompt, Fears.


LeviHan Week Prompt #5

October 31 - Fears

Letting Go

AN: Takes place many, many years in to the future, post canon, where Titans are eradicated from the world already. A companion fic to "Family", if you want. ;)

* * *

"_S-sir__…"_

_With his perpetual scowl in place, Levi stared up at the stuttering young man outside his doorway. The lad was tall, with blond hair and blue eyes. The former soldier recognized the boy to be one of the sons of a merchant from town. Irritated, the man who was once known as __'__Humanity__'__s Strongest Soldier__'__ asked, __"__What do you want, boy?__"_

_The young man tried to suppress his shaking, standing before Levi had obviously intimidated him. Taking a deep breath, the lad then cleared his throat and sent the man an even gaze. __"__Sir, please let me marry your daughter.__"_

"_Are you shitting me?__"__ The older man practically growled and looked straight at the boy, eyes gauging if he was joking or not. _

_The lad took a reflexive step back, slightly daunted by the former soldier__'__s piercing glare. It took about a minute for the young man to regain his bearings and reply earnestly to the older man. __"__No, sir. I__'__m very serious. I__'__d like to ask for your daughter__'__s hand in-__"_

"_No.__"__ Levi snarled and promptly slammed the door in front of the poor young man__'__s baffled face. _

_Cursing and muttering under his breath, Levi stepped back into his humble abode. The man made his way to his chair and sat down. He picked up his teacup in that peculiar way of his, holding the cup at the rim instead of the handle, and sipped on his now cold jasmine tea. _

_A pair of arms embraced his neck and Levi felt the familiar weight of his wife__'__s head resting on his shoulder. Her unruly brown hair tickled him as she asked, __"__Who was at the door?__"_

"_Some little shit who said he wanted to marry our daughter__…"__ The man mumbled, annoyed, putting down the teacup before absentmindedly running his hands through the woman__'__s locks, an old habit from back when the two were still members of the famed __"__Survey Corps__"__ many years ago._

_To Levi__'__s surprise, instead of being enraged like he was, the damn woman had the audacity to laugh. And laugh heartily, she did._

"_What__'__s so funny, Shitty Glasses?__"__ Levi hissed through clenched teeth, now glaring at his supposed __"__better half__"__. _

"_It__'__s just__…"__ Zoë took a deep breath to recover from her laughter and her trademark grin was plastered on her face. __"__You__'__re so cute when your jealous!__"_

"_I. Am. Not. __**Jealous**__.__"__ Levi enunciated each word slowly and harshly. He said the last word, especially, with much contempt as if it were a curse word._

"_Right~__"__ Behind those owlish glasses, there was a mischievous glint in those chocolate brown eyes Levi loved so much. Zoë was attempting (and failing) to suppress another chortle. __"__Sure, you aren__'__t~__"_

"_Tch.__"_

_Years of marriage to Zoë Hange taught the man to get used to the woman__'__s constant antics and playful teasing. The man simply picked up his cup and finished the rest of his cold tea._

* * *

Levi relents. Eventually.

(After his daughter's poor suitor endures many countless threats, minor "accidental" injuries, dagger glares, and intimidating "talks" from his future demon of a father-in-law, that is.)

The wedding is set to take place at the start of spring next year.

As per request of his future son-in-law's family, Levi finds himself and Zoë attending an engagement party for the newly betrothed couple.

His perky wife was busy chatting up one of her future son-in-law's relatives about whatever the hell was the subject of her latest research. Ever since the eradication of Titans and humanity's freedom from the walls that bound them, the bespectacled woman's inner scientist had been unleashed. Her inquisitive personality led her to study anything and everything under the sun. From bugs to chemicals, even to different kinds of seaweed. The sky was the limit for her. _That poor sod__…_

From his little corner at the wall, Levi shifted his gaze from his wife to his daughter. She was at the other side of the room with her fiancé, chocolate eyes full of happiness and mirth as she talked with her beloved.

The man took this opportunity to really study his daughter. Raven hair pinned up in a fashionable hairstyle, some blush tinting her cheeks, a simple blue dress that showed her modest but lovely curves… She looked so beautiful.

A wave of realization finally hit him. He could no longer call her his "little girl". His daughter… She was a lady now. And she was going to leave him.

Levi felt something drop to the pit of his stomach. He hadn't felt that way since titans roamed the world and each expedition outside the walls meant a comrade lost to the jaws of those man-eating monsters. As much a he hated to admit it, the idea of losing his daughter, it… It _scared_ him shitless.

When did time fly by so fast? What happened to his little girl? Where was the infant he cradled in his arms?

_She grew up. _The man answered his own question, bitterly.

A memory from long ago resurfaced in his mind. It was a summer day, back when his daughter was still a young child…

* * *

_Levi and Zoë have a garden. It is a small plot of land that his wife filled with as much plants and flowers as she could get her hands on. The garden is more hers than his, really, as Zoë is the one who spends hours every weekend on her knees digging through soil and dirt, while he watches her at their patio._

_He asked her once why she spends so much time working on that plot of land, not that he__'__s complaining though, watching his bespectacled wife tend her garden was more preferable than being dragged along into one of her strange experiments, he supposed._

_The brown-haired woman would just shrug her head and smile, saying it reminded her of the life she had before joining the military. __"__Besides,__"__ she added, __"__isn__'__t watching a garden full of life grow so much more relaxing after seeing so many lives taken?__"_

_Levi decided not to respond, choosing instead to sit in the shade and read. The two would then fall into a companionable silence, occasionally broken when Zoë would ask for his input on where to put each plant._

_One day, their little girl donned a sunhat and decided to join her mother in her gardening. The girl tried to get her father to join as well, but Levi simply declined. Ugh! Just the thought of all that mud and dirt made him curl his upper lip and shake his head in disgust. _

_Zoë rolled her eyes. __"__Don__'__t mind your Daddy, Honey. He can be such a princess sometimes.__"_

"_Hmph.__"__ The man left the two girls outside and made way back inside the house to do more cleaning. _

_Hours later, Levi stared in horror at his wife and his child. As expected from a woman like Zoë Hange and her offspring, they were both absolutely __**filthy**__. Mud and soil on their knees, arms, hands, beneath their fingernails, and somehow even on their hair! This was not acceptable!_

_Barking at the two to remove their mud-covered boots (he would __**not**__ allow such vile things leave mud tracks in his house, thank you very much), he grabbed his daughter by the hand and his wife by her ponytail and dragged them to their bathroom. Running them a bath, the man forced the mother and child to scrub themselves clean, not allowing them to leave until there was not a speck of soil on their persons. _

_By the time they were finished, both mother and daughter smelled fresh of soap and shampoo, both cleaner than they were earlier this morning. Levi nodded at handiwork, satisfied at how clean they were._

_His girls were both exhausted after gardening and bathing. They walked hand-in-hand towards Levi and Zoë__'__s bedroom. A few minutes later, Levi found himself scrunched between the sleeping spread-eagle form of his snoring wife on the right and his daughter curled up to him on the left. He didn__'__t think too much of it back then, but looking back at it now, it was probably one of the happiest memories of his life._

* * *

"Levi..? Are you okay?"

Snapping out of his reverie, the man turned his head to find his wife now beside him, brown eyes filled with concern. Perhaps there was something on his face that gave his anxiety away? His mouth? His eyebrows? He was never sure exactly what specific facial feature gave his emotions away, but Zoë did. She always knew how to read him, even way back when they were still members of the Survey Corps.

"You know…" Her chocolate eyes left him and glanced at their soon to be son-in-law who was all smiles with their daughter. "He is a good young man. I think we can trust him to make her happy…"

"I know…" Levi replied softly, following his wife's gaze to the young happy couple. "I know, Shitty Glasses…"

"Besides," Zoe beamed at her husband. "Our daughter is a smart girl, I just know she has chosen carefully."

"Oh?" Levi arched a thin eyebrow, the corner of his lip tugging upwards in a small smirk. "All this coming from the woman who tried to name our unborn child "Bean" of all things."

"Hey!" His wife punched the man's shoulder playfully. "That was years ago and, I'll have you know, "Bean" is a perfectly good name."

"Sure it is, Four Eyes," the man said sarcastically. Levi felt his mood lighten instantly after talking with his wife. He supposed there was nothing he could do to quell his fear at the moment. He'd just have to deal with it when the time came.

* * *

Six month passed and it was time to start thinking about the wedding again. Their son-in-law's family did most of the planning, but occasionally Levi would pitch in as well (him since Zoe's preferences and opinions were much too outlandish and ridiculous for most regular people's tastes. _That damn Four Eyes__… _Levi would sigh).

During this time, Levi spent his days compulsively cleaning their entire house (even Zoe's study which he promised himself never to enter during the whole course of their marriage).

In one particular day, their future son-in-law came to have dinner with his wife-to-be's family. The young man was clearly shocked to see the man proclaimed to be "humanity's strongest soldier" during his childhood wearing a white bandana on his head and a ridiculous piece of cloth covering his nose and mouth, sweeping non-existent dust and dirt from the floor.

Zoë could only laugh at her future son-in-law's surprise. "Oh, don't mind him. He always cleans when he has to vent." The older woman smiled knowingly.

The young man glanced at his fiancée who was chatting with her mother about what they were going to have for dinner. She didn't seem perturbed in the slightest! Perhaps this was a common sight in their household? The lad only shook his head in disbelief and followed the two women to the kitchen.

* * *

Time passed and, eventually, the day of the wedding arrived.

It was going to be a simple and quiet affair. A small ceremony where only the closest friends and family of the bride and groom attended.

Levi's hands fumbled as he redid his cravat for the umpteenth time that morning. Cursing and muttering under his breath, the man couldn't tie the damn thing properly that day for some reason.

Noticing her husband's predicament, Zoë approached the man, gently pried his fingers from the fabric from his neck, and, with a look, wordlessly offered to do it for him.

Levi observed his wife's face. She had a smile on but her brown eyes lacked that twinkle that was normally there, thoughts similar to his own were probably running through her head. He nodded his head and watched his wife tie the cloth around his neck with deft hands.

When they were both dressed and ready, they took a carriage to their daughter's wedding.

Last minute preparations were finished and the wedding ceremony finally started. Before Levi knew it, it was time to walk his daughter down the aisle.

The fears came hurtling back to his chest and, with each step, it became harder to breath.

He was giving his daughter away and she was going to leave him.

At the very last few steps, right in front altar, Levi tensed. His feet refused to move another step.

He couldn't do it. He was to afraid to let go.

Then, she squeezed his arm. Snapping back into attention, Levi gazed at his daughter, all in white. She looked so, so beautiful and so, so happy. And she let go of him.

For a fraction of a second, Levi's stoic mask was broken and he raised both eyebrows in surprise. He was somewhat expecting her to leave him and just walk those last few steps on her own. But she didn't.

Instead she wrapped her arm's around her father and embraced him tightly. Whispering in a soft voice, she said, "I love you, Daddy. Thank you."

While still hugging her, Levi gazed at his daughter's face. Her chocolate brown, which she inherited from her mother, were filled with so much sincerity, happiness, and warmth. In them, he found the strength to walk those last few steps.

When they reached the altar, he finally let go.

His daughter smiled at him one last time before interlocking her hands with the groom.

The pastor began speaking and Levi made his way to his place beside Zoe. Behind her glasses, there were tears at the corners of her eyes. She leaned on his shoulder, her hair tickling the side of his face. "I'm proud of you." she said in a soft voice.

"Hn." Instead of giving a reply, he squeezed his wife's hand and together they watched the happiest day of their daughter's life.

* * *

AN: A day late... D: I'm so sorry... Did not have time to edit... The quality is so... bleargh... Wanted to experiment with flashbacks, but it ended up so, IDK anymore... I'm so tired cramming and ughghghg... Sorry... TT^TT


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